Heart assist devices are vital instruments for patients who have contracting hearth muscle problems and who have not responded positively for drug treatments.
In today's world, thousands of patients with coronary artery diseases who have suffered from heart attacks receive cardiac failure treatments. If the patient does not respond to medicine treatment, it becomes necessary to transplant a new heart. It is not easy to find a heart donor. Therefore it is necessary to have heart support devices to prolong patient's life and provide heart support while patient waits for an available heart for a transplant. It is desirable to have a heart support device that is small enough to be used both in adult and infants.
There have been numerous studies for developing heart support devices In order to provide higher life standards for patients who are in waiting lists for heart transplants. Consequently many different support devices have been offered. Jarvic 2000, Lionheart, Coraide, Heartmate II, HeartSaver and Abiocor are examples of heart support devices. Debakey Heart Support Device manufactured by Micormed company with the support of NASA engineers in the U.S.A., is an example of the new generation heart support devices. Because of being small in size and suitable for all ages have made them ideal devices. Since these devices requires less invasive surgical operations, they are better preferred by patients and heart surgeons.
In previous years balloon pumps that have been in placed in aorta were utilized for that purpose. The balloon that is inflated and deflated in synchronous with the heart operation, has aimed to facilitate the blood flow in aorta. Later systems that operate with air pressure have been developed. The pressurized air is provided through out the compressor and the air tank that goes with the patient. One membrane that has been moved forward and backward by means of the pressurized air produces the power that moves the blood forward. Later, systems with electrical motors have been used. Initially these systems were formed by an electrical motor and an attached spiral water turbine. There is one input and one output prosthesis conduit in the system, one end is placed in the heart and the other end is placed in aorta vein, when motor is operated system receives the blood from the heart and pumps it into the aorta.
Systems with pressurized air have been considered inconvenient because of their noisy operations. Systems of electrical motors with great volumes and low efficiency, considered to be inconvenient to install in patients. They were quite energy consuming and also constraining patients' movement capabilities.